Travel from Takayama to Nikko

What is faster (Train, but not NOZOMI) transport travel from Takayama to Nikko?
I have JR-PASS. We are two seniors (65 years old).
I will be in Takayama 23-24 Sept 2023 but I must reach Nikko on 24 Sept 2023

Use the following link to find out a basic plan using the JR pass yourself:

https://world.jorudan.co.jp/mln/en/japan-rail-pass/?sub_lang=nosub

Note that it's not possible to get exact times and trains as these times are not available yet.

Do note that it will be a LONG TRAVEL day - around 5-6 hours from memory with multiple train changes.

I've travelled to Japan more times than most and almost never try and travel this far on non-Shinkansen lines in one day.

The quicker route via Toyama is around 6 1/2 hours and via Nagoya 7 1/2 hours. It is simply a long day from two spots that don't easily link. Personally, I would not like to do that trip in a single day.
Example routes at https://japantravel.navitime.com/en/area/jp/route/result?start=0000257...